Tag Archives: Embezzlement

An Indianapolis woman will learn her fate after admitting to six counts of wire fraud and money laundering in a $5.5 million embezzlement scheme.

No longer a swing state (The state typically votes Republican with an exception in 2008) Hoosiers will head to the polls as Kristi Espiritu will be headed to sentencing in U.S. District Court at 10 a.m. on Nov. 8. She worked at Network Storage Inc., a data storage company based in Indianapolis, from 2008 to 2014 as a bookkeeper.

Court records show that with access to the company’s bank accounts she used their money to pay for shopping trips to purchase luxury items such as diamonds, handbags, electronics, furnishings and travel. A common occurrence in employee theft losses. According to a plea agreement reached back in May she admitted to lying to company executives and falsifying books and payroll systems. Even the best managers, can be over trusting and never spot check or have a system to verify the monies in their bank account to avoid crimes like this.

As a part of a plea deal she agreed to pay $5.5 million in restitution, if she can’t pay that amount before sentencing, federal officials will use asset forfeiture to recover the funds. If the company purchased a dishonesty bond to cover this crime, they would become whole and not be concerned if the employee had the monies to repay the theft.

Espiritu could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on four wire fraud charges, and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on two money laundering charges. White collar criminals steal through position and influence and quite often get away with their crimes for many years before getting caught.

It is unsure whether Network Storage Inc. had a fidelity bond (aka Crime Bond, Dishonesty Bond) which is a form of insurance protection that covers losses incurred as a result of fraudulent acts by specified individuals, usually insuring a business for losses caused by dishonest acts of its employees. Learn how fidelity bonds and surety bonds from BF Bond provide your growing business with the protection you require. Visit us at BFBond.com to fill out an application or call us at 800.921.1008

Trust and morals are a core element of any type of relationship—business or friendship. And no one hires, at least knowingly, a dishonest employee. Sometimes people change, however. Employees can become dishonest, albeit only a minority of them do. Employees can rationalize their theft in many ways: ‘the company won’t miss it,’ ‘they’re not paying me enough,’ or the person succumbs to a gambling or some other addiction.

Unfortunately businesses do go bankrupt because their employees’ steal large amounts of money, or smaller amounts over a period of years, or in some other way commit computer fraud or some other type of fraud. This has an impact not only on your business but also on your other employees and those who count on your services or products.

To learn more about commercial crime insurance and how to protect your business, visit us at www.BF Bond.com. We’ll work with you to:

Fraud and embezzlement in the workplace is on the rise, occurring in even the finest work environments.

82% of workplace crime is carried out by employees

1 in 4 employees has either committed or witnessed workplace fraud and abuse

1 in 4 employees committing fraud against their employer has been with the company for more than 10 years

Only 1 in 3 of those who have witnessed a workplace crime bother to report it

These crimes can go on for years and when discovered the impact can be huge. Smaller companies are especially vulnerable to Fidelity crimes because the trust factor is increased due to the closeness of the employees.

Most business insurance policies either exclude or provide only nominal amounts of coverage for loss of money and securities as well as employee dishonesty exposures.

Employee dishonesty causes as much as 20% of the nation’s business failures.

White collar crime can have serious financial consequences, even threatening a private company’s survival. Bernard Fleischer & Sons, Inc. offers a solution to handling crime losses such as dishonesty, forgery, robbery, safe burglary, computer fraud and other criminal acts committed by employees, leased employees, volunteers or someone required to be bonded under ERISA, through a Crime Insurance Policy. For more information about Fidelity/Crime Bonds call 1.800.921.1008 or visit our website to get a free no obligation Fidelity/Crime Insurance quote.

Crime Insurance
For Private and Non-Profit Organizations

Crime insurance AKA Fidelity addresses the most common fidelity threats, including losses due to employee dishonesty, credit card forgery, computer fraud and theft and disappearance and destruction of property. With crime protection from Bernard Fleischer & Sons, Inc, you can obtain a wide range of coverages to help protect your business against financial loss due to certain crimes.